The Hanseatic League, though they were frequently involved in disputes, and sometimes in wars, with France, Flanders, Holland, Denmark, England, and other powers, and though they undoubtedly aimed at, not only the monopoly, but also the sovereignty of the Baltic, and encroached where-ever they were permitted to fix themselves, yet were of wonderful service to civilization and commerce.  “In order to accomplish the views of nature, by extending the intercourse of nations, it was necessary to open the Baltic to commercial relations; it was necessary to instruct men, still barbarous, in the elements of industry, and to familiarize them in the principles of civilization.  These great foundations were laid by the confederation; and at the close of the fifteenth century, the Baltic and the neighbouring seas had, by its means, become frequented routes of communication between the North and the South.  The people of the former were enabled to follow the progress of the latter in knowledge and industry.”  The forests of Sweden, Poland, &c. gave place to corn, hemp, and flax; the mines were wrought; and, in return, the produce and manufactures of the South were received.  Towns and villages were erected in Scandinavia, where huts only were before seen:  the skins of the bear and wolf were exchanged for woollens, linens, and silks:  learning was introduced; and printing was scarcely invented before it was practised in Denmark, Sweden, &c.

It was at this period that the Hanse towns were the most flourishing; and that Bruges, largely partaking of their prosperity, and the sole staple for all their goods, rose to its highest wealth and consequence, and, in fact, was the grand entrepot of the trade of Europe.  The Hanse towns were at this time divided into four classes:  Lubeck was at the head of the whole League; in it the meetings of the deputies from the other towns were held, and the archives of the League were kept.  Under it were Hamburgh, Rostok, Wismar, and other nine towns situated in the north of Germany.  Cologne was the chief city of the second class, with twenty-nine towns under it, lying in that part of Germany.  Brunswick was the capital of the third class, having under it twelve towns, farther to the south than those under Lubeck.  Dantzic was at the head of the fourth class, having under it eight towns in its vicinity, besides some smaller ones more remote.  The four chief factories of the League were Novogorod in Russia, London, Bruges, and Bergen.

From this period till the middle of the sixteenth century, their power, though sometimes formidable, and their commerce, though sometimes flourishing, were both on the decline.  Several causes contributed to this:  they were often engaged in disputes, and not unfrequently in wars, with the northern powers.  That civilization, knowledge, and wealth, to which, as we have remarked, they contributed so essentially, though indirectly, and without having these objects in view, disposed and enabled other powers to participate